July 14, 2010

Cook County health care overhaul clears hurdle

A plan to remake Cook County's taxpayer-funded health care system to emphasize outpatient care at community clinics cleared a hurdle today.

The proposal by the county's independent hospital board passed a County Board committee by a 9-3 vote, though some commissioners worried the strategy will shortchange some of the neediest neighborhoods by closing acute care services at Oak Forest Hospital and scaling them back significantly at Provident Hospital.

"We have to have an emergency room, emergency care, at Oak Forest Hospital," said Commissioner Joan Murphy, D-Crestwood. "I believe that. To make any kind of health care (work) for those people that live in the (south suburbs), we need to have an emergency room that they can go to, and some in-patient as follow-up."

But Commissioner Jerry Butler, D-Chicago, said the proposal is an honest attempt to provide the best health care possible to county residents in light of shrinking state and federal subsidies and imminent changes to the way medicine is administered across the country thanks to health reform.

"We are now talking about holding up the good and looking for the perfect," Butler said. "There is no perfect plan."

The county's health system is the medical provider of last resort for about 800,000 residents of Cook County who lack health insurance. Even when health reform kicks into high gear in 2014, an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 county residents will remain uninsured.

The plan assumes $72 million in annual savings due to the changes at Provident and Oak Forest, which would be used to help run the reconfigured health system.

Comments

You guys should stop complaining cuz one the health care we have now isnt as good as it was supposed to be. also the law has just been signed give it a try u guys are too hard on democrats they went to college and we voted for most of these people.so if u want to say u have the right to choose tell that to ur congress men or state official. as for obama people are just tryin to make it look like america made a mistake he has done things to help us and we had a full 8 years of a terrible president and i will be so as happy as ever when a obama fixes bush's mistakes. You can find full medical coverage at the lowest price from http://bit.ly/chE6zp obama has to put up with the wo0rld judging his every move and trying to fix the mess we are in we are lucky anyone wants to be our president. STOP COMPLAINING AND GIVE HIM A BREAK. i wanna see one of yall do what he sas done. some people are just so ignorant.

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